{"id":10973,"date":"2023-09-29T09:50:32","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T07:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.der-digitalisierungsberater.de\/microsoft-says-behave-or-youll-get-a-smack\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T11:29:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T09:29:25","slug":"microsoft-says-behave-or-youll-get-a-smack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.der-digitalisierungsberater.de\/en\/microsoft-says-behave-or-youll-get-a-smack\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft says: Behave, or you’ll get a smack!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new Microsoft Terms of Use state: If you do something bad (what that is, MS will tell you), you’ll get a “smack”<\/strong><\/em> and potentially have your account terminated. Is that right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vague wording allows for almost anything. And the focus on “hate speech”<\/strong><\/em> or “fake news”<\/em><\/strong> also means that Microsoft now has a “Ministry of Morals and Truth”<\/strong><\/em> that monitors all of us. <\/p>\n

Is that good? After all, many of us have been particularly rebellious in recent years, and that’s simply unacceptable. (Some, by the way, for their entire lives) <\/p>\n

In this blog post, I dedicate myself to the topic of GTCs\/Terms of Use with a focus on Microsoft. LinkedIn is also included, by the way.
\nLet’s see if I’ll soon no longer see many of my contacts because they were too “naughty”<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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No one gets in here anymore!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Locked out, now what?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The consequence for “bad actions”<\/strong><\/em> is the termination of the account or services. Pretty foolish if you have everything in the cloud, including all your data.
\nLucky are those who have everything backed up locally. But what if Microsoft then “terminates”<\/strong><\/em> your operating system? <\/p>\n

Perhaps it’s worth reading the GTCs more carefully now and in the future. Hardly anyone is aware of what they are “signing”<\/strong><\/em>.
\nPrivate individuals are usually completely overwhelmed by these formulations. And unfortunately, companies are often no different.
\nWhat could possibly happen, you have nothing to hide. Or do you? Because what is considered “worth hiding”<\/strong><\/em> is not decided by us, but by others, and that’s the catch. <\/p>\n

Here’s the link to read the conditions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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“When do we suspend user accounts?<\/strong><\/section>\n<\/div>\n
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Severe or repeated violations of our policies, including violations of our child exploitation and abuse imagery policy, may result in account suspension. Sometimes a suspension may be permanent. Under permanent suspension, the owner of the suspended profile forfeits all licenses, subscriptions, membership time, and Microsoft account balances. For example, your account may be suspended permanently if you distribute sexually explicit content involving minors, if you use your account as a phishing drop box that harvests private data of others, or if you send repeated unsolicited contact requests.” <\/span><\/div>\n
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Read more via this link.<\/a><\/div>\n
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The bad things are summarized here in the link (English)<\/a><\/div>\n
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By the way, you should read the entire blog post and not conclude that this isn’t so bad, because we don’t do what’s written here.<\/div>\n
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I dare say that almost every one of us could run into trouble with remarks or texts made once, under the paragraphs of “Hate Speech”<\/strong><\/em>, if I’m not even allowed to say (or have it said) that I’m stupid myself (see below). This is if the “controllers”<\/strong><\/em> want it that way. <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Every keystroke, every uploaded image, every comment, every like will be monitored in the future. Is that really legal? <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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With AI and “Blockwart,” it will work<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a long time now, not many “little men”<\/strong><\/em> (it could also be women or diverse individuals) have been sitting behind us, looking over our shoulders when we type bad things; AI does that.
\nBecause AI and the incredibly cheap storage media allow everything to be analyzed and then also stored.
\nThe saying “the internet never forgets”<\/strong><\/em> applies especially here.<\/p>\n

In addition, Microsoft has set up a special “reporting platform”<\/strong><\/em> (here in the link)<\/a>. Here, anyone can snitch on their neighbor or competitor as they please. They probably deserve it anyway. Should they get a smack? <\/p>\n

Was that hate speech? Oops, no, because for a “justified” punishment, that is certainly allowed according to MS.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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How much power should private cyber police and the neighborhood warden have, and how much “force” can they use?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Always be the first to receive the latest news, interviews, and expert articles? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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